ANSWER MAN
Coach Stephen Silas talks virus, draft class and team in transition.
Rockets coach Stephen Silas on Thursday happily, joyously even, did something that under other circumstances he might have taken for granted. He went to work.
After 10 days in quarantine following a positive test for COVID-19, he watched the Rockets summer league team practice and spent time in his office, more than ever looking forward to the next step in the Rockets’ rebuild. On Sunday, the Rockets will face the Cleveland Cavaliers’ summer league team, the first of four games pitting their prized draft pick, Jalen Green, against the other members of the draft’s top five. Rockets first-round picks Green, Alperen Sengun and Josh Christopher will join members of last season’s Rockets, K.J. Martin, Khyri Thomas, Anthony Lamb and Armoni Brooks.
There are hopes that at some point, draft pick Usman Garuba will join them in Las Vegas. Some of the veterans have plans to stop by. For now, Silas was thrilled just to be able to say he is back, looking forward to the day his team can say that, too.
That was enough to celebrate with as he discussed the frustrations of quarantine, shared his first comments on the draft and looked forward to melding the Rockets’ new young core with the holdover veterans. (Because free agents had not yet been signed, NBA rules did not permit him to speak about Daniel Theis or David Nwaba.)
Q: Most importantly, how are you feeling?
A:
I’m feeling great! (Laughs.) I haven’t had any symptoms since the first or second day that I knew that I was positive. But I’m feeling great because I’m out of isolation, I’m out of quarantine, I’m back in the building, I’m back on the court, I’m able to do what I love with the people I enjoy doing it with. So, I’m feeling very good. I’m also feeling grateful that I am vaccinated because it could have been a lot worse. It was not at all bad when I got it. I just had to make sure I spent the 10 days away from people, away from my family and doing it the right way. But now that I’m out, I’m great.
Q: Once you got past the health concerns, was it frustrating that after everything that happened last season, when you finally got a new roster to coach, you could not even go to practice?
A: Very frustrating. I mean, to be at home texting back and forth with the people in the draft room and watching it on television and not being in the room, that was frustrating. And then, to watch the press conference knowing there would have been a chair there for me and being able to welcome these guys to the organization and not have to do it via phone, that was frustrating.
Then, missing the first few days of training camp was frustrating as well. But I would rather it happen now than in the season. I’m healthy. And the relationships that I will have with these new guys and well as the guys that we already have on our roster, that will not be a problem at all.
Q: Were you able to enjoy the draft night and the results?
A: I was excited. Rafael (Stone, the Rockets general manager) obviously did a great job. We talked a lot about the kind of targets that he had. He had me watch a bunch of film on these guys. I knew who they all were. I was getting texts as it was unfolding.
I was excited to get all four guys because I had done research on all for of them and studied them. We had talked a lot about them.
It all worked out almost as a perfect world for us as far as who we got and where we got them and now looking forward with them.
Q: You have coach established veteran stars but spent the bulk of your career working with young, top prospects. LeBron James. Stephen Curry, Baron Davis, Luka Doncic. How do you feel about the way things have changed to sort of restart and rebuild with youth?
A: It’s good. It’s different than this time last year. I’m not sure anybody would have thought this would be the position we’d be in but we’re all excited about the position we’re in to have these young guys. I have had a lot of experience working with the best of the best when it comes to young players, first-year players, navigating the NBA landscape as far as being young, being talented but also having a lot of responsibility and being a big part of the team.
That’s one of the things I’ve really been thinking a lot about, them as a group but also how they fit in with the group we already have, guys that are established and making sure it’s seamless with the previous guys and the new guys and everybody’s pulling in the same direction.
Q: After the pre-draft preparations and first impressions of summer league workouts, do you see any similarities with Jalen Green and those players when they were at the same stage?
A: There’s a few things. There’s an almost quiet confidence they all have. LeBron had it when he first came in (and
Silas was a Cavaliers assistant). He just had a confident swagger but not in a loud kind of way. Luka was very much the same. Steph was supremely confident when he was a rookie but didn’t really wear it on his sleeve. They just had it. It was one of the
things that made those guys really, really good. I see that in Jalen, his quiet confidence, and his ability to just know if he puts the work in, he’s going to be really good.
The other thing that kind of separated the previous guys I’ve coached, and hopefully Jalen fits into that, is the basketball IQ. Not necessarily watching film and being able to decipher the film, but the on-the-fly decision-making that’s just next-level stuff. Watching him in the G League and doing the research I did on him, I see some of that, the see-the-play-before-it-is-happening stuff. Those guys, they can use the athleticism in ways most guys can’t.
Q: In his case, he comes from a season with the G League program for elite prospects, played for Brian Shaw. In those initial practices, were there signs of how he might have benefited from those experiences?
A: He definitely has a maturity about it. I’m sure B-Shaw and his staff helped along the way. Being in the bubble is not an easy thing. He learned a lot and learned about the NBA game. But he also had vets on his team, Bobby Brown, Jarrett Jack, Amir Johnson, who were showing him the ropes, telling him what to expect, all those things most guys his age (19) don’t get.
They’re with peers. He was with guys who have been through the fire and gave him nuggets that I’m sure he will draw upon as the season goes along. We have talked a whole bunch. He understands he has gained a lot by being in the G League.
Q: Alperen Sengun was also a professional before he was drafted. Does it show with him?
A: Yeah. He’s not rattled at all by anything that’s going on. He has basically seen it all at a young age (he turned 19 the week of the draft.) He played at a high level, been the MVP of the Turkish league. He has a professionalism about him which is refreshing for 19.
That’s one of the great things about these kids that we have. They all have a level of professionalism they have shown already as far as their work habits and their ability to listen, as far as their ability to connect with their teammates. They have all shown they are 19 but they are professionals.
Q: Did that remind you of K.J. Martin, who was 19 last season but always in a professional atmosphere (as Kenyon Martin’s son)?
A: That’s true and he has taken it to the next level with his work this summer. He’s been here all summer in the gym and he is helping these guys. He’s one of the vocal guys on the floor and one of the leaders of the summer league group. He’s always had that maturity about him and it’s grown.
Q: Assuming Garuba will join you for this season, how do you feel it will work with four 19-year-old rookies, a 21-year-old point guard, and a 20-yearold forward on a team with established 30-somethings John Wall and Eric Gordon?
A: It’s very much about the people. If you have good people, and they all are, then it should work out well. If everybody is concerned with everybody doing well and everybody doing their best and the organization moving in the right direction, it should work out.
Obviously, in an NBA season, there are ups, there are downs, there are issues you have to deal with. But the people we are talking about on this team are really just some good people. There’s going to be conversations to be had and decisions to be made but I do trust the fact the culture is very much about the people and we have good people in this organization and on this team.
Q: Does it help that you saw Wall interact with young guys, especially Kevin Porter Jr., last season?
A: For sure. I got to see it. I got to hear it. I got to learn from it. He’s one of the best. If we had guys who were not necessarily great people it would really be a difficult situation. I trust the guys. I trust the structure we’re putting forth.
Q: How is Porter doing this offseason?
A: He’s doing well. He’s been in most of the summer. He’s been in the gym. He’s been working on his game. He’s been spending a lot of time with his teammates. Having him here in Houston and working with John Lucas, spending time with his family, he’s been in and out at times, taking some time to himself, was very important. He’s really done a good job with his time management. It all kind of comes back to his game.
Q: With a team in transition like this, what are appropriate goals? Or what is the mission?
A: Goals is a hard word right now. The draft was last week. It’s all new. It’s going to take a little while to come up with the goals of the group. The things I’ve been thinking a lot about is the structure of how we do things and the accountability for everybody. And making sure, since we’re going to be young, making sure we have the things in place for these guys to succeed on and off the floor, so making sure our player development structure is on point.
Obviously, we have John Lucas, who is the best in the business at it. But making sure he has everything he needs for these guys to get better. We just want to put everything in place for them to be as successful as they can be, as well as the guys coming back from last year so they can play as well as they can possibly play and feel they are a part of something special, something positive and moving in the right direction.
Goals are somewhere in there. A lot of what I have been thinking about is the structure. I know I want to make sure these guys are put in the best position. Right now, that’s the goal.
Q: Have you had a chance to get away?
A: I went away for four days. We went to Cabo, Mexico. And I went and saw my parents for three days. Beyond that, I’ve been in Houston. And I went to Miami and saw John and Christian (Wood) and D.J. Wilson. I’ve been in the gym most of the time. That’s my vacation, being in the gym, watching these guys work and get better.
Q: How did John and Christian look? A:
Good. Christian has a really good routine. He has good people he’s working with. Same thing with John. When I saw John, he was working with his physical therapist. He’s beyond that now. He’s working on the court now. Looking forward to seeing them. A good bunch are coming to Las Vegas to support the team. That’ll be great.